{Flourless} Cacao Cookies

As my first post, I thought that I would tell just a little about me personally. I am about to graduate high school in  14 days and I could not be more excited! I have been baking since I was a little girl, but only discovered about two years ago that I had a knack and passion for the culinary arts. You can usually find me trying out new recipes, or concocting my own.

 I live in a family that enjoys food, and luckily I have two younger brothers who seem to be always hungry and they are always willing taste testers. My family is very supportive and they are never to scared to tell me the truth if something is bad.

In the fall, I am planning on attending culinary school in order to get my degree, and I am so incredibly thankful for how all the pieces have simply fit into place.

I am hoping to one day have either my own little shop, or a catering business. My specialty is desserts, so I will warn you right now, that you will be seeing a lot of recipes to satisfy the sweet tooth.

Well, lets get down to business! The recipe for today is for all you Gluten-Free people, but also for those who have a big sweet tooth.

These cookies are delicious, but as a warning: these cookies are rather sweet. My dad thinks that gluten is an amazing thing (*insert eye roll*), and he LOVED these cookies!

No exaggeration! Another plus side to these cookies, is that they are only 68 calories! Each!! The centers are rich and gooey, with a meringue edge.

{Flourless} Cacao Cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup organic cacao powder

1/4 tsp. salt

4 large egg whites

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cacao powder, and salt.

3. Stir in vanilla and egg whites. Whisk until batter is moistened.

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Scoop the batter by the tablespoon onto baking sheet. Leave enough space between each cookie for each cookie to expand.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked.

7. Let the cookies cool completely before transferring to an airtight container for storage. Leave at room temperature or freeze (they're really good either way).

~Enjoy!- Gabi xoxo~

Sweet Cornbread

Brrr! With all the cold weather lately, I have spent a great deal of time drinking tea and curled up under a heating blanket. The positive side to the cold, is that I have gotten a lot of infinity scarves crotched, and I have been reading and catching up with friends. Cold tends to bring people closer.

Two night ago, it was decided by a unanimous vote, that we would make chili to chase away the cold that seemed to be under the skin. Of course, chili is not complete until you have sweet cornbread with it. I love, love, love sweet cornbread! There are so many ways to make, but I thought that I would share with you my recipe that I have used numerous times.

 

Cornbread

Ingredients:

4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup cornmeal

2 cups flour



1-1/2 cups sugar 

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8×8 pan.

2.In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, milk, vanilla, and cooled melted butter and stir.

3.Mix in cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, stirring to incorporate – but do not over mix.

4.In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold them into the batter.

5.Pour into a greased pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure it is cooked through. Enjoy!

 

 

Foolproof Fudge

WOW! I have not posted in so long! I just got so caught up in the holidays. If I hade posted about every recipe I made over the month of December, I would've had over 25 posts!!! A new year has begun, and that means a fresh start, with new recipes to try.

I was extremely busy in the kitchen over the holidays! Hardly a day went by when I wasn't baking. I gave so much food to people! I made up gift boxes and gifted the sweet treats to neighbors, friends, relatives, and coworkers.

One of the recipes that I had to make a few times (because my brother kept eating them all up), was a Foolproof Fudge. So easy, yet so delicious!

Foolproof Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups semisweet (or milk chocolate) chips

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Dash of salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Line 8" or 9" square pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

2. In heavy saucepan, melt chips with condensed milk and salt. Once chips are fully melted, remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

3. Spread evenly in prepared pan, and chill until hardened.

If adding marshmallows:

Stir in 2 Tbsp. butter with the vanilla. Fold in 2 cups of mini-marshmallows. Enjoy!!